


Drunken Proposals

by CatrinaSL



Series: Marry Me [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Oblivious Steve Rogers, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS, Sleep Deprivation, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-10 10:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6979540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy the Sleepy People Wrangler takes on scientists, superheroes, and her Soulmate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drunken Proposals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jacedesbff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacedesbff/gifts).



> This fic is for jacedesbff, who provided the Words (and prompted a series)!
> 
> Soulmate AU Reminder: Everyone has a Soulmark, a tattoo of the first words their Soulmate will say to them. Showing someone else your Soulmark is like baring your soul to them, so most people only show their Soulmate or very trusted friends.

When they first left, Jane had distracted herself with science, and Darcy thought she wasn’t worried. They were the _Avengers_.

It was only when Thor missed his second check in time by twenty minutes that Darcy saw how scared Jane was. She started to give her a little space, to leave her alone in the lab for longer than she normally would have. Jane didn't sleep very well at the best of times, but while balancing science and concern for her nearly indestructible boyfriend, Darcy knew it was likely impossible.

Finally, a week after they left, coupled with relief that came from the fact that she had just received a call from Natasha letting them know that the team was all fine, Darcy was able to club Jane over the head with logic. She got her worried scientist into bed, standing over her until she was breathing regularly instead of tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling. She crashed on the couch so that if Jane made any attempt to escape back to the lab, she'd trip over the ottoman and wake Darcy first.

Two days later was their last word. Jane said she hadn't spoken to Thor but that the Captain had reported that he was bruised but ready to head out with the team for the final push of the mission.

"Do you think he was putting a good face on it, so I wouldn't worry?" Jane had asked.

"I'm sure Captain America would give it to you straight," Darcy had assured her. "He's like Abraham Lincoln with that stuff, right? 'I cannot tell a lie,' you know?"

"Darcy, I think that was George Washington."

"Whatever."

The darkest moment was in the lab at 12:52 AM, nearly seventy two hours after Jane had last hung up the phone. In the entire time Thor had been away, even after he had come to help save New York without seeing her, Darcy had never seen Jane weep like that.

When the quinjet landed on the roof, they were both there waiting with the medical team. Clint had made first contact, letting them know about the incoming wounded. Darcy knew that Jane felt bad for being relieved that it was Tony and not Thor. Pepper was en route, but wouldn't arrive for another two hours.

The back hatch dropped open, and the medical personnel swarmed forward. Jane waited, stony-faced, so that they could load Stark onto a cart and wheel him inside, overseen by Bruce and Steve.

"Will he be okay?" Darcy asked Natasha, as Thor scooped Jane into his arms nearby.

Natasha gave a businesslike nod. "He took a hit to the leg," she explained, though Darcy had seen that for herself as they rushed him away. "It was bad; even with the armor in the way. We weren't sure if the artery got knicked."

Darcy nodded and Natasha followed the others inside.

"Sorry about the radio silence," Clint said as he slung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. She held the door open for him so that he could lug his equipment inside. "Bet you guys were climbing the walls."

"Jane nearly was," she said. "I'm cool."

Clint grinned. "Yeah, you knew we were all going to come back alive." He tossed a look over his shoulder. "They still out there?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "They'll probably be makin' out for a while."

"Come on," Clint said, passing over a bundle for her to carry. "I'll introduce you to Captain America."

"Sweet," Darcy replied. "My last Avenger!" Then she groaned under the weight the archer was piling on her.

"Quit whining," Clint warned, "If you weren't here, I'd have had to carry it all in myself."

"Maybe you should anyway," Darcy threatened, leaning forward to mime dumping the equipment on the floor.

Clint gave her an amused glare. "Don't you dare."

They lugged everything into the elevator, then abandoned it in the "Hawkeye space" at the top of the tower for Clint to sort out later.

"It was pretty bad," Clint admitted. "I mean, we beat the bad guys, but you should have seen Steve. When Tony went down, he got in there and dragged him back to the quinjet himself."

Darcy stared at him. "Doesn't that suit weigh, like, a thousand million pounds?"

Clint grimaced and gave a tiny nod. "The Captain, he can't lose comrades in the field."

"Oh yeah," Darcy remembered. "His... friend."

"Yeah." Clint nodded. "Anyway, after that, it was just getting out of there. It took us longer than it should have, and Steve wouldn't rest. He didn't even pass out when we flew home. I think he's been awake for at least thirty hours straight." He sighed. "Maybe longer."

The elevator doors slid open and Darcy stepped out after Clint. He led her down the hall, poking his head into an observation room where Natasha and Bruce were waiting. Steve was there too, sitting up with his head drooped forward onto his chest.

"How is everything?" Clint asked, squinting through the window at Tony on the operating table.

"Going okay," Natasha reported. "I just got off the phone with Pepper. She says she'll be here as soon as possible."

"Will he be all right?" Darcy asked.

Bruce nodded. "We have high hopes."

"He'd better," Clint said with a smile. "Pepper'll kill him, otherwise."

“Does all progress well?” Thor asked as he and Jane joined them.

While Natasha gave Thor an update, Darcy raised her eyebrow at Jane. The astrophysicist returned a radiant smile, her face flushed with relief and Asgardian kisses.

“Did you hear that, O Captain?” Thor boomed, placing a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Our brother in arms will recover.”

Steve’s head tilted up, and he gave Thor a small smile, his eyes glazed.

“He’s so blitzed,” Natasha said, a smile coming through in her voice. “He probably hasn’t been this messed up since before he joined the army.”

“In the… In World War II?” Bruce asked.

Natasha nodded. “It’s the serum. He can’t get drunk. Sleep deprivation is probably the closest he’ll ever get.” She sighed. “Somebody needs to get him to bed.”

“I’ll do it,” Darcy volunteered. “That’s pretty much my job anyway.” Jane rolled her eyes and sighed, and Darcy grinned at her. “Although he weighs a bit more than the people I usually push around, so I could probably use a hand.”

Bruce took his cue and stood. “I could probably use some rest myself,” he admitted.

“And I didn’t even have to threaten you with the cattle prod!” Darcy exclaimed, her voice sarcastic.

Thor helped them get the Captain up, and Bruce tucked himself under one arm while Darcy took the other. They sleepwalked him into the elevator and Darcy propped him against the wall while she hit the button for their floor.

“Tony…” Steve mumbled. “Idiot… Going in by himself…”

“Yeah, well, he’ll be okay,” Bruce reiterated. “You made sure you’d have a chance to yell at him later.”

“Cocky son of a…” Steve slurred, and slumped onto Bruce. Darcy had a hard time pulling him back upright.

"It’s probably too bad he can’t get drunk like a person,” Bruce joked as he helped Darcy drag Steve out of the elevator. “He’d probably be great fun at Tony’s parties.”

" _Tony_ would have great fun,” Darcy predicted.

“Yeah, you’re… probably right,” Bruce said, grimacing as he nudged Steve’s door open.

“I feel like—” Darcy groaned under the weight of the super hero. “I feel like if we at least get him to the couch we’ll have done our duty to the country and the world.”

“Come on, Darcy. He’s had a hard couple of days. Let’s at least get him to the bedroom and get his boots off.”

They huffed and puffed and dragged Steve to bed. Then they both stood, each hoping the other would take the initiative.

Finally, Darcy sighed and put her hands on her hips. “I wonder if he’s suggestible, like instead of us having to undress him, would he follow instructions? One time I got Jane into her pajamas like that. Watch.”

She faced the half-awake, half-comatose hero. “Take off your clothes!” she commanded.

His eyes popped open and he swung his gaze blearily to her.

Bruce stood back, in awe of her control over sleepy people. “Wow, you might have super powers,” he told her.

Steve sat up and shucked out of his uniform top, then stood and drunkenly leaned in Darcy’s direction. She didn’t mind that, because, _wow_ , shirtless Captain America, but when she reached out to push him back, she found her hand clasped in his. She looked up into his eyes and saw him staring down at her, blinking a little, and still wobbly.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

While Darcy was in shock, Bruce was squinting at something on Steve’s back. “Darcy…” he began, pointing at it. He looked over at her. “I think, uh…”

Darcy glanced at Bruce’s face, though his surprise was nothing to hers. “He’s my Soulmate, isn’t he?” she managed to say.

Bruce gave a nod.

“Great. Drunken proposals. This is everything I ever wanted it to be and more,” she snarked.

“Didn’t know you’d be so pretty,” Steve continued, brushing her cheek with one hand. “She’s pretty,” he told Bruce.

Bruce didn’t laugh, but it was close. “Very pretty,” he agreed. “You should get to bed, though, don’t you think?”

Steve nodded drunkenly. “You gotta... Bruce. You’re a good man. A good friend. Don’t let me forget what a pretty girl I’m gonna marry.”

“We just met!” Darcy objected, despite the grin that was on her face.

Steve grinned back, and Darcy shoved him backward onto his bed so that she could begin pulling off his left boot.

She laughed and shook her head at Bruce. “I’m so glad he can’t get drunk, because this is ridiculous.”

 

* * *

The next morning, Darcy walked into the comfortable waiting room outside Tony’s recovery room and handed Clint a cup of coffee. Pepper was in with Tony, yelling at him for probably the sixth time in the last twelve hours, and Natasha was watching them through the open door, a small smile on her face.

“She been to bed yet?” Darcy asked, cocking her head at the super spy.

“I think _that_ challenge may be too much for you,” Clint replied. “She’ll get some rest once Steve is back up, I’m sure.”

“You two know I can hear you, right?”

“I always assume you can hear me; you ever wonder why I never say anything bad about you?” Clint quipped, smiling into his coffee.

Darcy sat quietly, eager to enjoy the verbal sparring, but a distraction arrived in the form of The Star Spangled Man With a Plan.

“Update?” he requested of Natasha, while nodding a greeting at Clint.

Natasha launched into a detailed description of Tony’s medical chart, and Clint looked at Darcy. “What’s up?” he asked.

“I’m just kinda nervous,” she told him.

“How come?”

Darcy shrugged. “You’ll find out.”

It was then that Steve nodded, thanked Natasha, and zeroed in on Darcy. “Doctor Banner tells me I have you to thank for making sure I got some rest when we got back yesterday,” he said, holding out a hand for her to shake. “Hope I wasn’t too much trouble.”

“From what I heard, you were,” Natasha said with a smirk.

Clint looked around at them all. “Okay, what am I missing?”

Darcy took Steve’s hand as though she were going to shake it, but instead used it to pull herself closer so that she could lift his t-shirt to expose his Soulmark and alleviate Clint’s confusion.

The archer let out a snort of laughter, and Steve dropped her hand, twisting and pulling the shirt out of her grasp.

“Bruce did not do a good job of telling you what happened,” she observed.

“He told me I’d find you down here,” he replied, his face filled with confusion. “He thought I should thank you…”

Clint ignored the floundering Steve and asked Darcy, “What did _he_ say to _you_?”

Darcy pulled up her sleeve so the three Avengers could see the marriage proposal on her upper arm.

“Little early for _that_ , don’t you think, Steve?” Natasha asked before she stood and sauntered out of the room.

Clint looked awkward. “I’m gonna… yeah.” He grabbed his coffee and trailed Natasha to the elevators.

Steve turned his adorable lost puppy look full force at Darcy, and she couldn’t help but laugh. She went up on tiptoe to peck him on the cheek. “You’re so cute, Rogers.”

“You’re… are you my _Soulmate_?”

“If you don’t believe me, I can call Bruce. He was there.”

Steve frowned. “Why didn’t he tell me…?”

“Well, you asked him to yesterday, but he was probably too embarrassed.”

Watching Captain America become engulfed in a deep blush was one of the greatest things Darcy had ever seen. “Did I… was I _naked_?” he whispered, covering his face with his hands.

Darcy shook her head, taking pity on him. “Just your shirt.”

He slowly pulled both hands down his still-mortified face. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “For not remembering. I… I was up, but not awake; the last thing I remember is…” he frowned in concentration. “Bringing Tony inside, I think.”

“It’s okay, Steve,” she told him, laying a hand on his arm.

He let out a nervous laugh. “I really _want_ to remember it, though,” he said sadly. “Bucky used to tease me so much about my ‘Mark… Said it was the kind of order he wouldn’t mind getting, Soulmate or not.”

Darcy laughed, and Steve looked down at her like she was a dream and he’d awakened to find that she was real. He reached out to take her hand.

“Maybe before we explore either one of the things that were said last night… we should go out to dinner.”

His completely old-fashioned avoidance of the words she had said to him was both adorable and oddly exciting, and Darcy found herself blushing. “Yeah, okay. Long engagements aren’t usually a good idea, but we probably should get to know each other first.”

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry, I know History Things. Darcy getting something like that wrong on purpose is funny to me.
> 
> Please do stop by and give [**Rose's podfic**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13217937) a listen!!!!
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/145158694313/drunken-proposals)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Drunken Proposals](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13217937) by [RsCreighton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RsCreighton/pseuds/RsCreighton)




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